The subject matter disclosed herein relates to component characterization and, more specifically, to damage detection.
The ability to detect deformation or liberation of a component of a system can mitigate collateral damage to other parts of the system. For example, in a gas turbine, stator vanes, shaped as an airfoil, for example, are used to control the pressure and velocity of airflow. When one or more of the vanes (blades) experiences a deformation on its surface or liberation from the remaining set of stator vanes, the collateral effect of the damage to that vane is a degradation in the gas turbine performance and reliability.
In prior systems, any damage to a component, such as the stator vane in the example above, was detected based on downstream effects, such as a change in the vibration signature or temperature in the gas turbine example. However, when deformation or liberation is detected based on downstream effects, the overall system has already suffered ill effects. Further, not every deformation may require immediate corrective action. For example, based on the location of a deformation, a required repair may be imminent but not immediate, thereby allowing a delay in system shutdown to perform the repair. Thus, timely and accurate identification of a deformation or liberation of a system component, such as an airfoil, would be appreciated.